Aussie swimmer pays tribute to late father on the winner's podium
Australian backstroke champion Kaylee McKeown has paid tribute to her late father on the winner's podium at the Paris Games.
The 23-year-old emerged victorious from the 100m backstroke, beating American pair Regan Smith and Katharaine Berkoff in a thrilling finish to take home the gold medal.
As she took to the podium, McKeown paid tribute to her late father Sholto, who passed away in August 2020 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.
She said that it was her father's dream to see both of his daughters compete at the Olympics.
He got to see Kaylee’s older sister Taylor, also a swimmer, at Rio in 2016 but never got to see Kaylee compete because of the delay to Tokyo 2020 amidst the Covid pandemic.
Speaking to Nine after her win, McKeown said her dad helped her secure the victory.
“Expectation, I think, is a privilege, and if you get that privilege, it’s something special,” she said.
“I like to think I have a little superpower, and that’s my dad. I believe he was with me tonight. I’m just over the moon. It feels really nice. I wasn’t sure if I could get up and get there tonight, the Americans gave me a red hot push."
“It just feels wonderful to be here.”
The emotional Aussie said her dad would be immensely proud, saying, “I’m not going to swear but we can all put words together.”
“He’d be extremely proud. It’s great to have my family here because I know that he’s here in spirit. No words can really amount to how much I appreciate (my family’s) support. They deal with a lot of s***, so thank you for all of that.”
Since his passing, Australia’s backstroke golden girl had a message dedicated to Sholto tattooed on her left foot, which says: ‘I’ll always be with you’.
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